NFL’s Kendricks pleads guilty to insider trading after swapping cash and tickets for stock tips

Finance news

Former NFL player Mychal Kendricks faces 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to insider trading on Thursday.

The linebacker pleaded guilty in a Philadelphia courtroom to using insider stock tips to enrich his financial portfolio. He also admitted to swapping cash, NFL tickets and access to parties with a Wall Street buddy for the nonpublic market-moving information.

Prosecutors said Kendricks made $1.2 million in profit off the trading.

Philly.com reported from the courtroom on Thursday, quoting Kendricks explaining his guilty plea to the judge. “Because I know I was wrong,” he said. “I know that I made the decision to accept information, secret information, and it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

Once a player for the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, Kendricks had recently moved to the Cleveland Browns before the team released him in August after he was charged.